Group Cycling with Kids Takes Practice
Wheel Life column - 27 March, 1999
by Todd Litman and Suzanne Kort - Victoria Transport Policy Institute

Like most teachers, Warren Hamm and Gary Garraway want to have a positive influence on their students' behavior. But while most schoolteachers confine their instruction to the classroom, Hamm and Garraway take their students on the road.

Warren Hamm had a very specific goal eighteen years ago when he taught Grade 3 at Saanichton Elementary School. He wanted to cycle with his students to Ruckle Park on Saltspring Island. He knew they would need to train for the trip, but bicycle safety classes were rare. So he developed his own curriculum and, with the help of the Canadian Safety Council and some dedicated parents, managed a successful ride on the island.

The next year he added ideas from CanBike, a skills based cycling course which had just been developed, and kept improving his techniques. When the Ministry of Transportation and Highways wanted to pilot their new "Bike Smarts" safe cycling program 5 years ago, they asked Warren to try the course with his Grade 4 class at Lochside School.

Bike Smarts teaches road rules and signals, proper bike and helmet use, technical skills like braking, cornering, and climbing, and how to identify, analyze and cope with road hazards. Once students master the classroom material, they practice with their bikes on a basketball court or empty parking lot.

Warren also organizes a half-day bike rodeo each year to teach and test riding skills. Students master each skill before proceeding to the next station. His students can also try mountain biking on the BMX trails, or track racing at the velodrome at the Juan de Fuca Recreation Centre.

A certified cycling instructor, such as Ray Hall of the Vancouver Island Safety Council, teaches the on-road component of the Bike Smarts program. After that, the students can join Warren in practice rides on low traffic Lochside road. Their efforts culminate in June with the 23-km ride from the Fulford Harbour ferry terminal to Ruckle Park on Saltspring.

"I usually provide a barbecue hamburger lunch half way," Warren explained. "8 to 9 year olds get pretty famished after ten kilometres of hilly riding."

Willows Elementary teacher Gary Garraway also uses the Bike Smart program with his Grade 7 students, supplemented with material developed from his own riding experience. Gary commutes four miles to and from school daily year round. Only ice and snow keep him off two wheels.

Willows' students participated in Bike to School Day during last June's Bike to Work Week, and will again this year as part of the Way to Go! School Program for alternative transportation which Gary is helping parents organize at Willows.

Gary's students participated in several group rides this year to UVic and around Oak Bay. They are planning an extended trip on the Galloping Goose Regional Trail in June for those who accumulate 100 km of cycling beforehand. The students graph their progress, and most will complete the program.

Experience with bicycle touring has taught him the benefits of proper training. "Preparation is a must so we'll feel good about riding the next day," Gary said.

Gary has also plans to have Ray Hall teach students on-road bike safety skills. This summer he plans to take the Can Bike II course so he can teach his students himself. "Can II is a God sent. It will add to my ever growing level of knowledge."

Gary will offer a half-day cycling education workshop at the Provincial Intermediate Teachers Conference to be held at Spectrum School in October. If enough elementary teachers apply for the class, he will take them out on the nearby Galloping Goose Trail for practice.

For more information about Bike Smarts, call 1-800-565-7727 or e-mail jwsporta@istar.ca. Call Warren Hamm at 658-1578 (h), 658-5238 (w) for information on his experience implementing the program. For bike safety classes taught by a certified instructor, contact the Vancouver Island Safety Council at 478-9583. For information about the bike safety workshop for elementary school teachers in October, contact Gary at 721-0457, e-mail garraway@islandnet.com.